New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-09
TIE IyVART1BLE LESSON or STRIKES.


TIE INVARLABLE LESSON or STRIKES
The testimony Of Austin Corbin. T. A. Potts
and Edwin r. Holden before tho Assembly
Committee which has been investigating the
strikes Is very significant upon one point. 1t
e point which certain labor leaders fight with
blind pcrtinacity. They arc painfully anxious
TO keep it from the consideration Of working
men. Bat it must be thought of, and the sooner
every man who works for days wages brings
his mind to bear upon 1t, the better it will be
for himself and the family who depend on his
employment for their very bread. MIR. Coroln'
Mr.. Potts and Mr.. Holden are all large employers
Of labor They represent many hundreds oil
thousands Of dollars in weekly wages. Neither
of them is personally very rich. Zach Is a
busy man Of affairs. Each has a wcll-carned
character for integrity and good. sound sense.
They know enough to appreciate the fact that
the moro content labor is with its situation
the more money they make.
These three men, while unable to propose
inst what the Legislature ought 10 do in order
10 avoid strikes. agreed earnestly in saying that
EMPLOYERS will never endure the interference In
their business Of outside parties assuming 10
represent their dissatisfied employees. They be
Hcvcd in any scheme OF arbitration that would
really arbtratc. They would gladly submit
any dispute TO the judgment OF legally con-
stituted authority but they demand that the
norties in interest shall be their own employees
and not an executive committee composed
of outsiders IL workingmen will calmly
reflect upon this, they must see how reasonable
auch n requirement Is. They have been
taught by the raft of demagogues VINO fatten
ON their distress that the executive CON-
n ittceu is the necessary nucleus OF all organ
,zation. That is a fatal abuse OF the truth thht
all large bodies must operate through smaller
ones. But In the practice OF the labor socle-
ties. hundreds of thousands OF men, spread
over large territory, engaged in all the
various trades and under all sorts OF condi-
lions. are placed unreseryedly in the hands OF
half a dozen irresponsible persons.
MIR. James f. Quinn, for instance, told the
Assembly Committee last Saturday that he was
Master Workman Of District Committee No.
40. with about 100000 men subject to his
order,. This may be organization from Mr..
Qunns point of view, but how Is 1t with the
army of intelligent men who have no more
authority over their own movements than
pawns on chess-b oardf Even assuming that
the motives of Mr.. Quinn and his fellow
smasters are above suspicion, they would
need to be omniscient In order wisely to repre-
sent such tremendous interests. In ordering
the recent strike Mr.. Qcinn has shown that,
like the now deposed Martin Irons, ho COM
mitted an act of awful folly, costing the thou
sands of men who have bowed to his will un-
told suffering, costing the public vast incon-
venience, costing tho companies almost moth
ing and gaining for the workmen even less.
All this might have been different had the
dissatisfied men been permitted to attend to
their own affairs in their own way. They
would have learned, for instance that Mr..
Corbin's company had lost over 81, OOO, 900 in
coal during 1886. Mr.. Potts would have told
them that the market that year had been lower
and duller than ever before, with one excep-
ton, during his whole business career of
thirty-two years. But the men were denied
any opportunity Of learning the circumstances
of the case, and Of adopting what measures
seemed best calculated to meet tho occasion.
The committee took all power out of their
hands. The committee said This il Organi-
zation.' The committee formulated demands
on one afternoon and ordered the strike the
next morning. A month has passed the
men are still idle; their places gone and all
that seems to he left is the Organization
This is not the history of one strike only, but of
a thousand ; and it will repeat itself to the end
of time unless wOrkingmen learn the lesson OF
settling their disputes themselves with their
own employers either directly or by arbitra-
ton. Capital runs too large risk TO hand ovci
its lifo to the executive committee even If
The wO kingmen think they can afford to do so.
IN EPISODE or BURGLARY
Thomas CARLYLE in n brilliant lint bt,.. and